AKD Govt. continues on potholed path to economic recovery while SJB, UNP explore alliance option
12 Jan 2025 | By Capt. Vasabha The Morning
- AKD to engage in China tour from 14-17 Jan.; several MOUs on media, tourism, exports to be signed
- US, India, others on close watch on AKD’s Chinese visit; concerns over approval for ‘One China’ policy
- India converts nearly $ 100 m worth loans to SL to grants; total grant assistance at $ 780 m
- Chamara vows to quit over Rs. 7 m spent on Clean Sri Lanka programme launch claim; Govt. denies
- Revelation on role played by RW in splitting votes from the SJB, ensuring AKD and JVP/NPP victories
- Ravi asks Govt. plan to raise Rs. 5,000 b this year; Anil says Govt. has a plan, but tough with set targets
- Opposition takes Govt. to task on rice shortages, prices; Govt. blames RW’s pre-polls rice distribution
- Namal asks if fertiliser subsidy is to be paid after Maha harvest; PM says payments in two instalments
- Contradictions and confusion in key sectors like energy, lands; latest decisions put projects in limbo
- Vijitha says complaints received from S. Korea, Australia of minister who sought monies; won’t name
- MR and SLFP discuss JVP/NPP Govt. in Kataragama; Mahinda asks Chamara to give tuition to new MPs
- MR wishes a trouble-free year for the people in Kataragama; Namal missing, in hospital with a son
- Sajith loyalists push for changes in SJB; Imthiaz sidelined after saying no to Sajith loyalist, say seniors
- SJB Working Committee holds decisive meeting; Sajith displeased with leaking Imthiaz letter to media
- Imthiaz denies involvement in leak, says letter sent only to a handful of office bearers, including Leader
- Sajith adopts several of Imthiaz’s proposals; four-member committee to look into changes to the party
- Management Committee to meet every Wednesday; Working Committee to meet every third Thursday
- Talks recommence on SJB-UNP alliance; SJB seeks alliance leadership or other leadership role for Sajith
- Thalatha assumes duties as UNP’s first female Gen. Sec. and is to serve as bridge between SJB and UNP
- SLFP puts on show of unity at S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike memorial; Chandrika, Maithri, Nimal, et al sit together
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) Government have their work cut out for them in every sphere – economic, political, and social – this year.
In fact, how AKD steers his JVP/NPP Government and the country as a whole this year will determine the future of not only the President and his party but that of an entire nation as well. While being engaged in the ongoing economic recovery programme, Sri Lanka has to manage geopolitics and political developments as well as ensure social welfare and justice.
The Clean Sri Lanka programme, which is the main programme of AKD and his Government, is now on a bumpy road, with attempts being made for the programme to stay the course.
While the Clean Sri Lanka programme is gathering steam in some aspects, the Government will have to ensure that the programme progresses without meeting the fate that befell the voluntary clean-up programme that was launched by youth groups in 2019 after then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) assumed office.
Soon after GR assumed office, youth groups engaged in various programmes islandwide to clean public places and to paint walls in such places as well. They claimed at the time that the voluntary programme was aimed at cleaning and beautifying the country and instilling discipline among the public.
The JVP/NPP Government will also have to work in a manner that will not draw criticism from the public and to get them involved as stakeholders of the programme. The ideal scenario would have been for the Government to engage in awareness campaigns to educate the public about the Clean Sri Lanka programme, its intended work, and outcomes, before launching it on 1 January without specific details and directions and expecting the public to get on board with it.
The revelation made by outspoken Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Chamara Sampath Dasanayake that a sum of around Rs. 7 million had been spent to launch the Clean Sri Lanka programme on 1 January without following proper procurement procedures, making it difficult for officials to make the relevant payments, also left the public wondering about the allegations while Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake requested details from Dasanayake to respond.
Dasanayake claimed that he would table the details that include Rs. 200,000 allegedly allocated to a singer, Rs. 15,000 to models who had served as ushers at the event, Rs. 700,000 for the theme song, and Rs. 2.1 million to create the website.
“The due procurement process has not been followed with regard to spending this Rs. 7 million. The Presidential Secretariat accountant has refused to issue the relevant cheque. You (the Government) will have to pay this sum from the fund in Pelawatte (a reference to the NPP fund). If the Government can prove that I am wrong, I will step down as an MP. This project failed at the inception itself.”
However, the following day (10), Chief Government Whip, Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa denied Dasanayake’s allegations, saying that only Rs. 900,000 had been approved for the Clean Sri Lanka launch and that not a cent would be paid extra. He added that Dasanayake’s allegation of Rs. 7 million was wrong.
Dr. Jayatissa pointed out that Dasanayake seemed to have gotten the quotations that were received for the event with the actual expenses. The Minister added that the quotations had not been approved and only a sum of Rs. 900,000 had been approved for the programme.
It will now be interesting to see Dasanayake’s response since he threatened to quit the House if his allegations were proved to be false.
Be that as it may, the outspoken Dasanayake also went on to reveal in Parliament the actions of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe that eventually resulted in the JVP/NPP victory at the last elections. The MP claimed that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and its Leader Sajith Premadasa would have won the election had Wickremesinghe not taken steps to break away 2.2 million votes from the SJB vote bank.
“You always scold Ranil (Wickremesinghe) and us. There’s no point in it. If we had not broken 22 (2.2 million), Sajith (Premadasa) would have been president. It is because we broke away 22 that you received 159 (seats). Otherwise, you would not have gotten 159. You will be seated on this side (Opposition) and they (the SJB) will be seated on that side (Government side),” Dasanayake claimed.
Budget 2025
Amidst all this, the AKD Government is gearing for one of the focal points in its economic and governance area – Budget 2025.
In terms of the Consolidated Fund, the recurrent expenditure is Rs. 3,021,901,982,000, the capital expenditure is Rs. 1,594,850,000,000, and the total expenditure is Rs. 4,616,751,982,000.
The maximum expenditure limit for governmental activities is Rs. 43,218,025,000. The maximum debit balance limit for governmental activities is Rs. 84,532,500,000. The maximum limit of liabilities for governmental activities is Rs. 12,065,000,000.
The Second Reading (Budget Speech) of the bill is scheduled to be held on 17 February and the Second Reading debate is scheduled to be held for seven days from 18-25 February. Thereafter, the vote on the Second Reading of the bill is scheduled to be held on 25 February at 6 p.m.
The AKD Government’s 2025 Budget will play a decisive role in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval of the pending tranche under the ongoing Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
Gearing for ChinaMeanwhile, President AKD is set to travel to China on Tuesday (14) and the final touches to the visit are being made, with plans to sign several agreements between Sri Lanka and China during the visit.
The President is to be accompanied by Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath and Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation Minister and Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake.
AKD is to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang on Wednesday (15).
Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Ministers has also granted approval for the continuation of supporting the ‘One China’ policy. The Government has maintained that Sri Lanka has consistently followed the ‘One China’ policy, which means that it recognises only the People’s Republic of China as the legitimate China, with Taiwan as an inalienable part of China.
The AKD Government’s decision has resulted in increased interest among many other countries, including the US and India, which are keeping a close watch on President AKD’s visit to China.
It is learnt that President AKD will underscore the importance of Chinese businesses not making various payments to individuals outside project-related work in order to ensure there will be no more commission payments.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a brief stopover in Sri Lanka last Sunday (5) while on his way to Namibia.
Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL) had stated that Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau member, Foreign Minister Wang had arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport at around 2.18 p.m. for a transit stopover enroute to Namibia.
The Chinese delegation of 18 members had been welcomed by Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong, AASL Chairman Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Harsha Abeywickrama, and AASL Vice Chairman Cyril Wannigama.
The Chinese Foreign Minister and his delegation had left Sri Lanka at 4.23 p.m. local time.
Agreements on media
It is learnt that among the agreements that are to be signed between Sri Lanka and China are several that will link Sri Lanka’s State media with Chinese media institutions.
Accordingly, the Cabinet had reportedly given approval to a Cabinet paper presented by Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa that includes the following agreements:
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Health and Mass Media and the National Radio and Television Administration of the People’s Republic of China; MOU between United Newspapers Company Ltd. and Xinhua News Agency of China; Memorandum of Cooperation between the Department of Government Information and Xinhua News Agency of China; MOU between the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and China Media Group; and MOU between the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and China Media Group.
Other agreements
The Cabinet last week also approved the signing of a MOU between China Media Group and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, with the aim of positioning Sri Lanka as a leading destination for Chinese tourists by using the latest technology and expertise of the media group based on the cooperation between the two parties.
The proposal was submitted by Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism Minister Herath.
The Cabinet had also approved the signing of an agreement on the protocol related to the export of chicken meat to the Chinese market.
Indian support
Meanwhile, India last week announced that the Indian Government had converted nearly $ 100 million worth of loans issued to Sri Lanka to grants. This was announced by Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha during a briefing with media personnel last week.
“$ 20.66 million has been extended as grant assistance to settle the payments related to seven completed line of credit projects in Sri Lanka. Similarly, there is another important project of rehabilitation of the Kankesanthurai Harbour in the Northern Province with total grant assistance from India to the tune of $ 65 million. This is also something that was to be executed through a line of credit but will now be executed through a grant.
“Along with $ 14.9 million for the Maho-Anuradhapura Railway Signalling Project that I mentioned earlier, more than $ 100 million worth of loans have been converted by India into grants. This conversion of loans to grants was also discussed in the Sri Lankan Parliament, on the return of the President, with much appreciation,” the Indian High Commissioner told the press.
According to the High Commissioner, India’s grant assistance to Sri Lanka stands at $ 780 million at present. Out of these, completed projects are estimated to be worth $ 390 million, ongoing projects are approximately $ 211 million, and committed grant projects in the pipeline stand at nearly $ 180 million. The total new assistance overall is $ 391 million.
Jha also noted that President AKD had also invited Premier Narendra Modi to visit Sri Lanka this year.
Expressing confidence
Sri Lanka is however confident that it can drive the debt-to-GDP ratio well below 95% by 2032 with GDP and currency overperformance, as debt has already fallen below the required level.
A statement from the Finance Ministry said that various critiques had been made of the IMF’s Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) target, with the view that the debt-to-GDP target of 95% by 2032 was too high.
“However, 95% is just the target; there is nothing to prevent the Government from achieving a debt to GDP well below that target,” the statement read.
The Finance Ministry said that debt to GDP had already declined below the level the IMF anticipated at the time of the programme review and that any overperformance in GDP growth and currency would help the country drive the debt-to-GDP ratio below the 95% target.
Moreover, it said that the negotiations with the bondholders had ensured that even at the highest state of growth overperformance, a nominal haircut of 16% had been obtained and a Net Present Value (NPV) haircut of 33% (at an 11% discount rate) had been achieved.
Ravi’s question
However, Opposition MP Ravi Karunanayake, while explaining the current economic conditions in the country, asked the Government in Parliament how Rs. 5,000 billion required for this year was going to be raised.
He asked the Government to explain its programme under the current path to raise revenue and investments apart from the IMF since the programme with the IMF alone could not help the country in this endeavour.
According to Karunanayake, managing inflation alone will not address the issue of raising the targeted revenue for the year.
Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Prof. Anil Jayantha Fernando responded to Karunanayake’s question agreeing that following the IMF framework and managing inflation targets alone would not address the issue.
However, Prof. Fernando noted that, unfortunately, the Public Financial Management Act had put in place limits for 2025 that included revenue and expenditure. He explained that these limits had been put in place according to projected GDP for 2025, which had been done in line with the IMF programme by the Public Finance Department.
“No one can project 100% about these statistics. For this year it has been set that 13% GDP should be the expenditure while 15% has to be raised,” the Minister explained.
He further noted that the Government had set its policies within this framework and would work to increase production and get more investments to the country.
Karunanayake then asked about the Government’s plan to support and uplift the 70% of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
Prof. Fernando stated that the Government had already discussed with all officials in the country’s finance establishment and had planned a programme to develop the SME sector as well. He noted that growth could be considered successful only if the benefits were equitably distributed and the latest figures showed that it was not so.
According to Prof. Fernando, the current welfare measures carried out by the Government are not merely for welfare but to provide assistance to the people to uplift them and get them involved in the economic process.
Blaming RW
Meanwhile, the Government continues to face pressure from the Opposition over the ongoing shortage of certain varieties of rice and the high prices of the stocks in the market. The issue resulted in a heated exchange of words between the Government and the Opposition during last week’s parliamentary sessions.
Former President Wickremesighe was also blamed by the Government for the ongoing shortage of red rice.
Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, responding to questions posed in Parliament by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa, acknowledged a shortage of red rice in the local market, but said the shortage was a result of the former Government distributing 20 kilos of rice per person free of charge ahead of the Presidential Election.
Samarasinghe alleged that the Wickremesinghe Government had distributed red rice to the public who did not consume red rice as well, which had resulted in the shortage. The Minister however stated that the Government had taken necessary measures to address the issues and ensure the continuous supply of rice to the local market.
Meanwhile, Namal also locked horns with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya over the fertiliser subsidy allocated for farmers for the Maha season, asking the Government if the promised subsidy would be paid after the Maha harvest.
The Premier stated that 996,992 farmers would be given the allocated Rs. 25,000 fertiliser subsidy in two instalments between 1 October 2024 and 15 February this year and that the first instalment had already been made while the second instalment would be completed next month.
Contradictions and confusion
Despite attempts by the JVP/NPP Government to streamline systems and act against corruption, there seems to be quite a bit of chaos being created, resulting in several key programmes coming to a standstill and stakeholders looking at initiating legal action against the Government’s unilateral decisions without any stakeholder consultations.
Some decisions taken by several key ministries have adversely impacted the power and energy and land sectors.
One incident that was recently reported was where the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure had suspended a power project in the Badulla District aimed at providing electricity to families in the Sinhalayagama, Unakanda, and Annasigala regions, saying it was necessary to facilitate an investigation into the land allocations, while the Energy Ministry maintained that the project was moving ahead and was in active status. Despite being over 85% complete, the project had reportedly been halted on the orders of JVP/NPP Minister Samantha Vidyarathna.
Energy Ministry Secretary Prof. Udayanga Hemapala denied any official cancellation of power projects since 26 September 2024 and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) General Manager Wasantha Edussuriya had confirmed that the project was in the commissioning stage. “There is no reason to halt it because the project is still under commissioning. Sometimes it may stop under their requirement,” he had added.
Another incident related to the power and energy sector was the move by the Energy Ministry to cancel several renewable energy projects while also cancelling the tariffs that had been agreed for several projects through previous Cabinet approvals.
The relevant Cabinet paper was approved last week and several previous Cabinet decisions on renewable energy are to be revoked as a result. The renewable energy industry has expressed dismay at the Government’s move, claiming it will have an adverse impact on investor confidence in the industry.
Another incident is the Government’s decision to stop releasing lands even for projects in order to launch an investigation into the lands released by the Land Reform Commission (LRC) since 2015. This inquiry has resulted in land releases for projects coming to a standstill, resulting in a delay in the recommencement of some stalled projects.
This delay in assigning lands for projects is a contradiction of President AKD’s call for businesses and investors to explore opportunities to carry out development projects. The President has announced that Sri Lanka is open for business and foreign investments while the Government is yet to take measures to ensure the ease of doing business in the country.
While irregularities and corruption need to be addressed and acted upon, such actions need to be pursued without hindering the economic processes at play, given that Sri Lanka’s economy is still in a fragile state.
Corruption complaints
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Herath has claimed that complaints have been made by diplomats from South Korea and Australia that businesses and investors from the two countries who have tried to do business in Sri Lanka have left for India and Vietnam instead due to the request for monies by some politicians in previous governments to support businesses or investments from these two countries.
These complaints have been made during recent meetings held between Herath, the South Korean Ambassador in Sri Lanka, and the Australian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka.
The South Korean envoy had pointed out that a South Korean company had won the open tender for the construction of an oil pipeline from Muthurajawela to the Bandaranaike International Airport. However, this tender had been cancelled without giving any reason.
However, there are now calls by the public for the Minister to reveal the names of the politicians who had requested monies from foreign companies in keeping with the JVP/NPP Government’s pledge to be transparent and act against irregularities.
Tuition for the Govt.
The JVP/NPP Government’s actions and work have now become a topic of discussion among the general public as well as political circles.
The Government was also the key topic of discussion during an unexpected meeting that took place between former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) and senior members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in Kataragama on the night of 31 December 2024.
The SLFP has a tradition of holding a pirith chanting ceremony at the Kiri Vehera in Kataragama. MR and his family also have a tradition of engaging in religious activities in Kataragama as the new year dawns.
MR and SLFP seniors were entertained by the Chief Incumbent of the Abhinavarama Temple in Kataragama. Over a cup of tea, everyone had discussed the current state of the country and the JVP/NPP Government’s actions.
SLFP MP Chamara Sampath Dasanayake had made an interesting comment about the incumbent Government’s inability to carry out its work and failure at governance. He had noted that the Government’s inabilities were so great that some members had even failed to engage in extramarital affairs (“Me anduvata kochchara veda berida penava neda, hariyata kotuvakvath paninna be ahuvenne nethiva”).
Everyone had laughed at this statement and former Minister Mahinda Amaraweera had said while laughing that Dasanayake as a senior MP should give tuition to the newcomers to the House, especially from the Government side. Dasanayake had laughed and said that there were more qualified people than him in the House to tutor JVP/NPP MPs on such matters.
MR’s wish
Meanwhile, former President MR was among the first devotees in the new year to make offerings to the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya.
Accepting his offerings, the kapu mahaththaya had asked MR if he had any wish from the gods. MR had smiled and said that he wished that the people would not suffer from shortages of food and other difficulties during the new year (“Hemotama karadarayak nethiva kanna endala inna puluvan wewa kiyala pathuva”).
Namal in hospital
However, Namal was not present with his father, MR, in Kataragama, like during previous years.
MR and the family had spent the holiday season in Nuwara Eliya and returned to Colombo on 31 December 2024 in order to leave for Kataragama for the religious observances at midnight. Namal however was unable to make it to Kataragama since he had to take one of his sons, who was down with the flu, to hospital for treatment in Colombo.
Namal on 1 January attended the New Year celebrations at the SLPP Headquarters from hospital.
Changes in SJB
The main Opposition SJB meanwhile is still trying to recover from last year’s electoral defeats and is looking at making changes to several key positions in the party amidst the growing dissension within the party over the party leadership, the lack of party democracy, and the interference of what is termed as third parties affiliated to the party leadership.
There were first reports of changes being made to the post of national organiser held by Tissa Attanayake following the critical comments made by him against the party leadership calling for immediate party reforms.
However, it is learnt that there are now moves mooted by loyalists of Opposition and SJB Leader Premadasa to make changes to the posts of party chairman and general secretary.
SJB Chairman Imthiaz Bakeer Markar it seems has earned the wrath of the SJB leadership and his loyalists following his recent letter containing 12 proposals to address the issues faced by the party. When there had been no response to the letter from the party leadership, Bakeer Markar had copied the letter to the General Secretary, National Organiser, and Treasurer of the party, which was later leaked and publicised in the media.
However, many SJB seniors have expressed their opposition to making changes to key positions in the party, which they claim is being mooted by Premadasa and his loyalists, once again in an arbitrary manner to make way for a few Premadasa loyalists.
Being sidelined
However, many SJBers as well as others in the political scene have been wondering about the reason for Bakeer Markar being sidelined by the party leadership.
It is in such a backdrop that several senior SJBers had discussed an incident that had taken place during a meeting of SJB seniors after the party’s defeat at the last Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
During this meeting, which was chaired by SJB Leader Premadasa, Bakeer Markar had stated that the party had been defeated at the two elections due to shortcomings within the party and that these issues needed to be properly identified and addressed to ensure the SJB’s victory at future elections.
Bakeer Markar had proposed that a committee be appointed for the purpose. Premadasa had then proposed that his confidant, Lakshman Fonseka, also be included in the proposed committee. Bakeer Markar had responded immediately saying that Fonseka should not be included in this committee since those who had decided on the party strategies and campaigns for the elections should not be part of it since the report and recommendations needed to be done impartially.
According to several senior SJBers, Bakeer Markar’s comments at this meeting had resulted in him being sidelined by the party leadership, which eventually resulted in him being axed from the party’s National List members to Parliament as well as not receiving a response to his letter containing proposals to address the issues currently faced by the SJB.
Decisive meeting
Amidst this increasing dissension within the party, the SJB Working Committee met last week, resulting in a decisive discussion.
Unlike during other Working Committee meetings, this time around, the party leadership had distributed a document to all members outlining the meeting agenda prior to commencement. The document had shown that among the key issues to be discussed at the meeting was Bakeer Markar’s letter with proposals to reform the party.
However, at the outset of the meeting, a majority of the Working Committee members had spoken about the current political situation and the elections to cooperatives and the SJB winning some of them.
After listening for a while, MP S.M. Marikkar had said that they should not lose focus and veer away from the main reason for the meeting. He had noted that there was no point in talking about the ‘feel-good’ stories instead of talking about the real issues and working to strengthen the party.
National Organiser Tissa Attanayake had also supported Marikkar’s statement, saying that the proposals presented by Bakeer Markar needed to be discussed. He had pointed out that there were shortcomings within the SJB that needed to be addressed and everyone needed to reflect on them and correct their mistakes or the SJB would continue to lose future elections.
Prior to discussing the proposals, Premadasa had expressed his displeasure over the leaking of Bakeer Markar’s letter to the media. Bakeer Markar had denied releasing it to the media, saying he had only given the letter to the Party Leader and a few other party office bearers – General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, National Organiser Attanayake, and Treasurer Harsha de Silva. It is learnt that the letter had been leaked to the media from the table of one of the party seniors who had been given the letter.
New committee
However, Premadasa decided to implement several proposals made by Bakeer Markar, which included the holding of regular and timely meetings of key party committees and for the appointment of a committee to study the changes that need to be made to the SJB as part of the reforms process.
Accordingly, a four-member committee was appointed consisting of SJB General Secretary Madduma Bandara, Chairman Bakeer Markar, National Organiser Attanayake, and Kabir Hashim.
It was also decided that the SJB Management Committee would meet every Wednesday and that the party’s Working Committee would meet every third Thursday of the month.
Three new members were also appointed to the SJB Management Committee – Marikkar, former MP Buddhika Pathirana, and Lalith Bandara.
Continuing push for alliance
Amidst the ongoing internal conflicts within the SJB, there is a continuing push for the party to unite with the United National Party (UNP).
The unofficial talks between senior members of the UNP and a group of SJBers that commenced after the Parliamentary Polls last November have recommenced this month, with several UNP and SJB seniors engaged in unofficial talks.
It is learnt that several key Premadasa loyalists have expressed willingness to explore possibilities of the two parties joining forces.
The SJB side, it is learnt, has proposed to the UNP side that Premadasa be given a leadership role in the proposed alliance. It is also learnt that the UNP is also agreeable to giving more powers to the SJB in the new alliance.
Thalatha’s bridge
The appointment of former SJB MP Thalatha Atukorale as the General Secretary of the UNP has renewed hope among the UNPers and SJBers of the possibility of uniting. This renewed hope has been further strengthened after Atukorale officially assumed duties as the UNP General Secretary at the Party Headquarters, Sirikotha, last Friday (10).
Senior SJB members, including several Premadasa loyalists, have also expressed hope that Atukorale will serve as a bridge between the UNP and SJB and that it is the best opportunity for the two parties to unite. A senior SJBer noted that there were several issues that needed to be ironed out with the UNP before proceeding with alliance talks and that these areas were being discussed at present.
Atukorale has been pushing for the two parties to unite even during her tenure in the SJB before defecting to support Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Election last September.
Only under the ‘elephant’
Meanwhile, the UNP has decided to maintain that the party will contest future elections only under the ‘elephant’ symbol.
The decision to stick to the ‘elephant’ was made after the UNP’s recent experience with the New Democratic Front (NDF) alliance under the ‘gas cylinder’ symbol, where the NDF General Secretary arbitrarily filled the two National List slots the alliance obtained at the Parliamentary Elections.
Sajith-RW meet
Meanwhile, SJB Leader Premadasa and UNP Leader Wickremesinghe met last week at the almsgiving held to mark the 50th birthday of Ven. Welipana Dharmarama Thera. It was interesting to see the UNP’s Wajira Abeywardena seated between Premadasa and Wickremesinghe. However, both leaders had engaged in a friendly chat.
It is learnt that the two Leaders had spoken about the incumbent Government and its actions. The discussion had also included the recent statements being made by Government ministers, the upcoming budget, and the matters to be raised in the House.
SLFP’s united front
The SLFP meanwhile put forward a united front last week when all senior members gathered at the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike statue on Wednesday (8) to mark their late Founder’s birth anniversary.
The event was graced by former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Maithripala Sirisena, who have both served as Leaders of the SLFP, and the new office bearers of the party led by SLFP Leader, former Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. The SLFP seniors, who have been at loggerheads for some time, were seen seated together and talking to each other.⍐